Currently with the French national team for the World Cup, 25-year-old Arsenal defender William Saliba is trying to come to terms with the Champions League final defeat against Paris Saint-Germain (1-1, 4-3 on penalties). Speaking to France Football, the Gunner elaborated on the matter.
Saliba: “People forget we had a great chance to go 2-0 up.”
“Pride or regrets? Regrets! Absolutely. When you open the scoring in a final, only concede an equalizer from a penalty, and then lose on penalties, of course you’re bitter.
I’ve heard people say we scored too early, but I prefer to open the scoring against a team like PSG rather than the other way around; otherwise, you risk exploding. People forget we had a great chance to go 2-0 up through Havertz just before halftime.” If we’d scored, would people have said we’d scored too early?
Saliba: “At the parade, I forced myself to smile so as not to spoil the celebration.”
“We had the right game plan. We felt Paris was more frustrated than ever in the first half. There aren’t many teams that have shut down PSG like we did. But even though there’s pride in the whole season, especially among our fans, the next day at the parade, I forced myself to smile so as not to spoil the celebration.”
The regrets are immense for the Gunners and will remain so. They would have been just as great for PSG had they lost, but perhaps a little less so because the Parisian team has already made history by winning the competition last season. Mentally, it’s always difficult to lose a final, but even more so when you’re close to a feat that no generation has managed to achieve.
For Saliba and his teammates, it’s now time to focus on new objectives. Having reached the final, there’s no doubt their next achievement is within reach. Perhaps by playing a more attacking, less defensive style of football, they could achieve something special, given the talent within the London squad.
